"I am heartbroken": When General Hospital star Kelly Monaco remembered late co-star Billy Miller in heartfelt tribute

It is two years since Billy Miller of General Hospital and The Young and the Restless fame passed away tragically. The Daytime Emmy winner died by suicide on September 15, 2023, after a long battle with bipolar disorder. While his death shocked most of his colleagues, co-stars and friends, his General Hospital co-star, Kelly Monaco, was conspicuous by her silence.

She finally broke her silence and paid a tribute in an Instagram post on Miller’s first death anniversary on September 15, 2024, which has been pulled off now. She stated her grief by expressing her love (via TV Insider):

“I will tell our story soon enough…. I love and miss you… and beyond.”

She also referred to the nickname the two used for each other, “duces”, in her post:

“Duces ‘I’ve got your back and you always had mine…”

She had previously expressed her disappointment about Miller’s exit from the ABC daily soap in 2019 on her X (formerly Twitter) account:

”I cannot come up with the words to describe how I feel about this decision…I’m heartbroken.”

Kelly Monaco’s Sam McCall was romantically partnered with Billy Miller’s Jason-turned-Drew between 2014 and 2019.

A glimpse at Billy Miller's life and career

Oklahoma-born Miller was raised in Texas. After receiving a degree in Communications from University of Texas, William John Miller II moved to Los Angeles for a career in acting and modelling. After appearing in numerous commercials, he auditioned for the CBS soap, As the World Turns. While he failed to grab the part, he returned to acting in 2006 with one episode of CSI: NY.

Miller followed this up with soaps and shows including All My Children, The Young and the Restless, Ringer, Truth Be Told, Suits, Ray Donovan and many more, besides the above-mentioned General Hospital. His movie credits include titles like American Sniper, Bad Blood, Ripper, Fatal Honeymoon and more.

As per his mother, Patricia, Billy Miller fought bipolar depression for years. The cause of his untimely death was attributed to a gunshot wound in his head while his autopsy results showed presence of ethanol and various drugs in his body.

Billy Miller’s role in General Hospital

Billy Miller initially played Jason Morgan starting October 2014 as the character woke up in amnesia. Back home, Jason broke up with Elizabeth and romanced Sam, played by Kelly Monaco. As his memory returned, Miller’s Jason rejected the idea of going back to his mob life.

When Sam was pregnant, he proposed to her. While collaborating with Curtis to expose Olivia and saving Sam from Olivia, the couple had their daughter, Emily Scout.

In 2017, it was revealed that the real Jason Morgan was alive, played by Steve Burton, while Billy Miller was Jason’s twin, Drew Cain. Since Sam chose to stay with Drew, the real Jason divorced her. However, trapped together in 2018, Jason and Sam discovered their true feelings for each other and Sam chose Jason over Drew.

Separating from Sam, 2019 saw Drew killed and Miller left General Hospital. While the character of Drew returned to the soap’s storyline and is currently played by Cameron Mathison, Miller moved on to other projects. Incidentally, Kelly Monaco left the soap after her character was killed off following a conspiracy involving the criminal Cyrus Renault.

While Billy Miller is no more, Kelly Monaco co-hosts a podcast. Meanwhile, General Hospital’s storyline continues to air on ABC every weekday, presenting action and drama in Port Charles.